In response to the growing bed bug epidemic, Aon Risk Solutions, the global risk management business of Aon Corporation (NYSE: AON), announced today its strategic alignment with Global Excess Partners, an innovator in the insurance specialty products business, and Terminix, the national leader in pest control services, to unveil the first ever bed bug insurance solution for hotels, landlords, student housing, corporate businesses and leisure travelers.

The insurance (subject to the terms of the policy) would offer a number of benefits including coverage of treatment, recovery of lost revenue (for hotels taking rooms out of service for treatment). Because bed bugs can lead to huge unplanned expenses, there is a definite market for this.

Timothy Wong of M&M Environmental told Crain’s New York, “This is like living in Florida and finding out insurance companies are now covering floods.”

There’s also surely a market for bed bug insurance for consumers (outside of leisure travelers).

I hope that in the future, consumers and business owners might be able to buy bed bug insurance which allows them a choice of treatment providers.

this raises the question of who provides the insurance ,Terminix orAON,etc.

this is no solution to having bed bugs as you are still paying a price to have them treated ..

the promblem to eracticating bed bugs is the techs. that allply the treatment, if the treatment is not done properly then it is un-effective. there is more steps to than just spraying and dusting to get rid of bed bugs and most exterminating companys techs. fail to do a complete job , if the
“APPLICATORS” fail to do a complete job then all the Insurance in the world wont help….there are many good sites on the internet that will inform you of what to do to get rid of bed bugs….in the lon run you will wind up payin out as much or more to have the insurance than if you got an Exterminator on your own and save time that it takes to have bed bugs under control this is just another way for insurance co’s. to line their pckets with the publics money, not a solution.

Im with Orvin Dove on the topic. If you have any questions about Terminix’s treatments google Terminix termite complaints and see the high number of complaints. They already offer Termite “insurance ” in some states and other states which consider this insurance to be illegal, they have managed to circumvent the rules by selling a termite insurance-ish package called the ultimate protection plan. After checking those complaints, picture the potential of the same volume of complaints applying to their bed bug insurance.

Next look at a sister company of Terminix called American Home shield. It’s a home warranty program and I search reviews. Overall Rating: Two out of five stars
Total Reviews: 1336 . 1300 people reporting and they’ve only recieving a two star reviews?

My last statement against a pest control warranty being offered by an insurance agency is because in order to maximize the insurance companies profits they will seek the lowest bidder to perform the work. All the nationa and most regional pest control companies capable of handling the volume of work pay a percentage of the work performed. I once worked for a company who handled pest complaints generated through insurance claims. The rate negotiated was on third the standard price of regular treatment. Try to use some logic here. If Im paid $136 for a job do you really think I’ll perform to the same standard if I were paid $45? I’d like to say yes but in all probability not. So in order optimize the pest control firms profits they in turn hire inexperianced technicians at minimum wage or slightly above it instead of sending out a pro who knows what his time is worth.

Timothy Wongs statement makes no sense to me but maybe he knows more about Florida than I do- I also tend to agree with Mel and in addition feel like the “IPM” approach mentioned is just being ‘politically correct’ to an ignorant audience. Money will be made on this more than likely but it still has to come out of someone’s pocket- hmmmm

I called AON’s media relations folks last week and have still not heard back. At this point I am not holding my breath. As most of you have stated, this looks to be more of a marketing gimmick than a true blue insurance policy. Most hotel/apartment owners and managers should be able to see through this rather quickly.
I ran into another insurer on a hospitality website providing clean up and unit off line coverage that was not tied to any pest control company. They actually called me back yesterday. I hope to get their details by the end of the week. I think insurance can be a good thing for property owners if done right and honestly.